Specsavers opens 800th practice

Specsavers has opened its 800th UK and Ireland practice in the Sainsbury’s supermarket in Deepdale, Preston.

It was also the fifth practice to be opened by the multiple in a Sainsbury’s supermarket.

Specsavers co-founder, Dame Mary Perkins, told OT that the multiple is delighted with the success of the collaboration so far. 

"Sainsbury’s vision to provide greater choice and convenience to its customers perfectly aligns with our mission to raise awareness of the importance of eye tests and to provide professional and affordable eye care to all,” she said.

A further nine practices based in Sainsbury’s are set to open by March 2018, at which time Specsavers will review the project with the supermarket chain.

“Our customers love the convenience and the accessibility. Sainsbury’s customers are traditionally very loyal to the Sainsbury’s brand and we are finding that we are attracting customers who might not otherwise have considered Specsavers,” Dame Mary Perkins added. 

At the opening on December 1, Dame Mary Perkins was joined by former England cricketer, Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff. 

After cutting the ribbon on Flintoff Way, Mr Flintoff spent time in the practice to learn about optical coherence tomography and Specsavers’ audiology services. 

He said: “One of the first lessons they teach you in cricket, football or any sport as a kid is to ‘keep your eye on the ball’ but so many of us take our sight for granted.

“To see how far eye and audiology healthcare has developed since Specsavers opened its first store is incredible.”

The multiple told OT that now it has opened its 800th practice, it plans to continue looking for opportunities to expand its optical, hearing and domiciliary services to more customers.